Justin Cassel

SAN LUIS OBISPO ? The UC Irvine baseball team surrendered the game-winning run on a passed ball to ruin a strong start by Justin Cassel in a 2-1 Big West Conference loss at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday. Jimmy Ostrand, who had tripled with one out, scored one out later in the sixth on a passed ball by UCI catcher Aaron Lowenstein. UCI fell to 19-16, 1-6 in conference, while Cal Poly improved to 21-15, 5-2. Jaime Martinez had two doubles, one of which drove in a run, to pace the Anteaters' five-hit attack.

UC Irvine senior Glenn Swanson, who earlier this month was bumped from the Anteaters' weekend rotation, has been named Collegiate Baseball "Louisville Slugger" National Player of the Week and Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance last week. Swanson threw the school's first no-hitter since 1972 on April 25, striking out 14 in an 89-pitch procession through the University of San Diego lineup that helped produce a 7-0 nonconference victory. The left-hander out of Morse High in San Diego, worked into the sixth in a nonconference clash Sunday at UC Davis to earn his second win in five days and improve to 6-4 this season.

UCI records first hit with two outs in the eighth in 6-2 nonconference setback to visiting Bears.IRVINE -- UC Irvine baseball coach Dave Serrano said after Friday's season-opening 6-2 loss to Cal that his team was still searching for its identity, as well as a productive lineup. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday, the Anteaters were still searching for their first hit. Cal junior right-hander Brandon Morrow, a third-team preseason All-American, pitched a perfect six innings against UCI's lineup.

Justin Cassel was an All-American pitcher with a 15-0 record, a 1.13 earned-run average and eight ?shutouts as a senior at Chatsworth High. Yet, when it came to discussing athletic accomplishments around the family dinner table in Northridge, the former UC Irvine standout mostly listened in awe. Justin?s oldest brother, Jack, was then destined for a Major League mound with the Padres and the Astros, while older brother Matt had already won the first of two national football championships at USC, on his way to becoming Tom Brady?

IRVINE ? UC Irvine junior Justin Cassel pitched like it was his last collegiate start Friday night, greatly increasing the chances he could return to the mound in the postseason. Cassel, praised by Coach Dave Serrano for his ability to set a positive tone in the opening game of the Anteaters' last four Big West Conference series victories, blanked UC Riverside with a complete-game five-hitter. The 5-0 win helped solidify the Anteaters' hold on third place in the conference standings, also helping their chances of earning an NCAA Regional bid. UCI (35-21, 10-9 in the Big West)

By taking advantage of pitcher-friendly ballpark, UCI hopes to contend with perennial Big West bullies Titans, 49ers.Three stories up on the parking structure that sits beyond the right-field fence at Anteater Ballpark looms a three-digit demarcation: 438. The white numerals painted on a green background indicate the distance in feet from home plate. While similar signage at other baseball venues might tantalize hitters, those who swing for the fences and beyond at UC Irvine's home yard might consider it more of a taunt.

The UC Irvine baseball team has won 13 of its last 15 games as it gives chase to an NCAA Regional berth. And those in search of a reason behind the late-season surge need only look toward the center of the diamond. A steady stream of quality work on the bump has helped put the Anteaters closer to navigating the postseason hump that proved too great a challenge for them last year under then-first-year coach Dave Serrano. The Anteaters' nine-game winning streak came to an end Sunday in a 4-1 loss to Pacific, but a string of 16 straight starts in which the starter has given up no more than three earned runs continues.

UC Irvine sophomore Justin Cassel threw eight innings of four-hit ball to help the Anteaters post a 10-0 nonconference baseball victory over visiting UC Davis Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep of the Aggies. Bryan Petersen worked a scoreless ninth to preserve Cassel's team-leading eighth win of the season and give UCI back-to-back shutouts for only the sixth time in the 27-season history of the program. Sunday's effort also completed the most dominant performance in a three-game series by an Anteater pitching staff in school history.

IRVINE ? At least once every inning, the chant sprang from the UC Irvine dugout, at once taunting UC Santa Barbara hitters and trumpeting the repetitive dominance of Anteater pitching ace Justin Cassel. "Finish him," a line of reserves kept singing in two-strike unison Friday, urging the junior right-hander to set yet another Gaucho down on strikes. Cassel complied a career-high 15 times to help UCI earn a 12-2 Big West Conference baseball victory in front of 463 at Anteater Ballpark.

Justin Cassel was an All-American pitcher with a 15-0 record, a 1.13 earned-run average and eight ?shutouts as a senior at Chatsworth High. Yet, when it came to discussing athletic accomplishments around the family dinner table in Northridge, the former UC Irvine standout mostly listened in awe. Justin?s oldest brother, Jack, was then destined for a Major League mound with the Padres and the Astros, while older brother Matt had already won the first of two national football championships at USC, on his way to becoming Tom Brady?

The opportunity to return to college did not diminish the intensity of Tuesday's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft for Josh Bradbury and Justin Cassel. Cassel, a junior starting pitcher from UC Irvine, was selected in the seventh round by the Chicago White Sox. Bradbury, a freshman right fielder from Orange Coast College, was the eighth-round pick of the Texas Rangers. UCI junior closer Blair Erickson was selected in the 10th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, while OCC sophomore pitcher Kyle Harper went in the 17th round to the Cleveland Indians.

IRVINE ? UC Irvine junior Justin Cassel pitched like it was his last collegiate start Friday night, greatly increasing the chances he could return to the mound in the postseason. Cassel, praised by Coach Dave Serrano for his ability to set a positive tone in the opening game of the Anteaters' last four Big West Conference series victories, blanked UC Riverside with a complete-game five-hitter. The 5-0 win helped solidify the Anteaters' hold on third place in the conference standings, also helping their chances of earning an NCAA Regional bid. UCI (35-21, 10-9 in the Big West)

The UC Irvine baseball team has won 13 of its last 15 games as it gives chase to an NCAA Regional berth. And those in search of a reason behind the late-season surge need only look toward the center of the diamond. A steady stream of quality work on the bump has helped put the Anteaters closer to navigating the postseason hump that proved too great a challenge for them last year under then-first-year coach Dave Serrano. The Anteaters' nine-game winning streak came to an end Sunday in a 4-1 loss to Pacific, but a string of 16 straight starts in which the starter has given up no more than three earned runs continues.

UC Irvine senior Glenn Swanson, who earlier this month was bumped from the Anteaters' weekend rotation, has been named Collegiate Baseball "Louisville Slugger" National Player of the Week and Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance last week. Swanson threw the school's first no-hitter since 1972 on April 25, striking out 14 in an 89-pitch procession through the University of San Diego lineup that helped produce a 7-0 nonconference victory. The left-hander out of Morse High in San Diego, worked into the sixth in a nonconference clash Sunday at UC Davis to earn his second win in five days and improve to 6-4 this season.

IRVINE ? At least once every inning, the chant sprang from the UC Irvine dugout, at once taunting UC Santa Barbara hitters and trumpeting the repetitive dominance of Anteater pitching ace Justin Cassel. "Finish him," a line of reserves kept singing in two-strike unison Friday, urging the junior right-hander to set yet another Gaucho down on strikes. Cassel complied a career-high 15 times to help UCI earn a 12-2 Big West Conference baseball victory in front of 463 at Anteater Ballpark.

SAN LUIS OBISPO ? The UC Irvine baseball team surrendered the game-winning run on a passed ball to ruin a strong start by Justin Cassel in a 2-1 Big West Conference loss at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday. Jimmy Ostrand, who had tripled with one out, scored one out later in the sixth on a passed ball by UCI catcher Aaron Lowenstein. UCI fell to 19-16, 1-6 in conference, while Cal Poly improved to 21-15, 5-2. Jaime Martinez had two doubles, one of which drove in a run, to pace the Anteaters' five-hit attack.

UCI records first hit with two outs in the eighth in 6-2 nonconference setback to visiting Bears.IRVINE -- UC Irvine baseball coach Dave Serrano said after Friday's season-opening 6-2 loss to Cal that his team was still searching for its identity, as well as a productive lineup. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday, the Anteaters were still searching for their first hit. Cal junior right-hander Brandon Morrow, a third-team preseason All-American, pitched a perfect six innings against UCI's lineup.

By taking advantage of pitcher-friendly ballpark, UCI hopes to contend with perennial Big West bullies Titans, 49ers.Three stories up on the parking structure that sits beyond the right-field fence at Anteater Ballpark looms a three-digit demarcation: 438. The white numerals painted on a green background indicate the distance in feet from home plate. While similar signage at other baseball venues might tantalize hitters, those who swing for the fences and beyond at UC Irvine's home yard might consider it more of a taunt.